Chapter 5 - Whispers in the Nursery
By five in the morning, Dr. Adrian Cole arrived at the mansion. At forty-four, Dr. Cole was the Rossi family’s primary physician—calm, distinguished, and wearing a sharp gray suit under his medical coat.
Dr. Cole carefully examined the syringe cap and the tampered formula bottle that Lorenzo handed him in the private study adjoining the nursery.
"It appears to be a low-grade gastric irritant," Dr. Cole explained, his voice smooth and professional as he held the bottle to the light. "Not fatal in a single dose, but enough to cause severe stomach cramps and nausea in a premature infant. It explains why Leo refused the bottle every time the night staff attempted to feed him."
Lorenzo stood by the fireplace, his dark suit crisp, his hand resting on the marble mantelpiece. "Someone wanted him to starve slowly so it looked like failure to thrive."
"It's a sinister tactic," Dr. Cole agreed softly, setting his stethoscope down. "I will personally test every sealed batch in the medical pantry and oversee his care from now on."
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Elena sat quietly in the rocking chair, cradling Leo as Dr. Cole packed his bag. As the doctor turned to speak to Lorenzo, Elena noticed a subtle detail: Dr. Cole’s right thumb twitched nervously against the leather strap of his bag—a micro-gesture she recognized from her years dealing with anxious doctors in hospital wards.
She kept her observation to herself, but a small seed of suspicion planted itself in her mind.
